What that Sauron/Adar flashback means for “The Rings of Power” season 2

"Their relationship is [a] really cool and complex part of season 2," Charlie Vickers says.

The opening scene of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 was filmed even before season 1 finished airing on Amazon Prime Video. It was Sam Hazeldine’s first day on set playing the orc leader Adar, a role he took over from season 1’s Joseph Mawle. Thankfully, he had a familiar face to act against. The scene is an important flashback to the violent breakup between Adar and Sauron, and is so far the only time in The Rings of Power that the Dark Lord has been played by actor Jack Lowden instead of Charlie Vickers.

“That was a nice surprise. I didn't know Jack was going to be there, and I'd worked with him on Slow Horses before, so that was a treat,” Hazeldine tells Entertainment Weekly. “But what surprised me even more on day one was the intricate and beautiful set. They were blasting this white ash all over us, it was amazing.”

Related: Evil takes root: Darkness rises in The Rings of Power season 2

The enmity between Adar and Sauron is one of the most interesting elements of The Rings of Power, because it is not directly based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s text. Much of the show is headed toward fixed points (we all know what will become of Númenor, for instance) but an orc rebellion against Sauron feels strange and new. Tolkien fans are used to thinking of Mordor as Sauron’s land, but in season 1 of The Rings of Power it was Adar, not Sauron, who activated Mount Doom and apocalyptically transformed the Southlands of Middle-earth into Mordor.

“The question is, if Sauron’s not running Mordor, then where’s it going?” J.D. Payne, co-showrunner of The Rings of Power, tells EW. “Adar has a really exciting arc ahead that’s probably going places you aren’t expecting.”

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Where does this all leave Sauron? Heartbroken and homeless, honestly. Following that opening flashback, season 2 brings viewers back to the present, where we see Sauron (now played by Vickers, still in his “Halbrand” guise from season 1) brought before Adar in chains. Instead of revealing himself, Sauron allows himself to be humbled by Adar so that he can get back to Eregion, assume his “Annatar” disguise, and continue forging those titular rings of power. But don’t think that means Sauron has forgotten about Adar and their unsettled score.

“He feels a huge amount of ownership over the idea of Mordor and his people,” Vickers says. “He leaves season 1 with a huge amount of anger towards Adar and wants to get retribution. But he has a level of power that someone like Adar can’t comprehend clearly.”

Vickers continues, “So he has this level of confidence knowing that he’ll stop at nothing to take revenge on Adar. Their relationship is [a] really cool and complex part of season 2.”

New episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 will stream Thursdays on Prime Video for the next five weeks.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.